The use of wood in fabricating caskets is wellknown; and in addition, limited use has been made of certain other materials, including corrugated fiberboard.
The present invention is concerned with novel casket structure and novel manufacturing techniques for making caskets, employing corrugated fiberboard as the base material.
One of the principal objects of the invention is the provision of a technique by which a shell or base of a casket, having flared side and end walls, is fabricated from a single blank cut from a planar sheet of the corrugated fiberboard, the blank having interconnected portions corresponding to the areas of the flared side and end walls. In this way, an exceedingly simple fabrication technique is provided, notwithstanding the flared configuration of the side and end walls.
The invention further provides a simplified technique for fabrication of a domed lid from corrugated fiberboard, the lid having a marginal frame and being constructed so that the lid may be used in a single piece covering the entire casket or in the form of a split lid in which two halves are provided, being separately mounted so that one half may be raised independently of the other, as is frequently desired in connection with viewing procedures.
The invention provides various specific manufacturing operations which facilitate the fabrication of the base or shell of the coffin as well as of the domed lid.
By virtue of these techniques, the invention provides a highly satisfactory and practicable configuration and method which can be carried out by the use of corrugated fiberboard, particularly corrugated fiberboard having a multiplicity of layers of corrugated material incorporated in the board.
The techniques of the invention not only provide for the fabrication of casket shells and lids which are of high strength, but which are also of relatively light weight. With a typical construction of the casket and lid according to the present invention, the total weight may be of the order of 50 lbs., as compared with a corresponding weight of 150 lbs. where the casket and lid are formed of wood.
Still further, the invention contemplates novel configuration of various parts of both the shell and the lid so as to facilitate the application to both components of fabric covering, commonly used and widely accepted.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
How the foregoing and other objects and advantages are attained will appear more fully from the following description referring to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a casket shell having flared side and end walls and with a domed lid applied, this view showing these portions of the casket as constructed in accordance with the present invention, but prior to the application of the fabric covering;
FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but illustrating the flared shell with fabric in the process of being applied, this view also showing one half of a split lid in open position;
FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but illustrating a completed casket shell and lid, with fabric applied to the shell and with the lid shown as being formed in one piece;
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken as indicated by the section line 4--4 on FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the casket shell and lid shown in FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a transverse sectional view taken as indicated by the section line 6--6 on FIG. 4;
FIG. 7 is an enlarged detailed sectional view of a portion of the lid, taken as indicated by the dot-dash circle applied to FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is an enlarged transverse sectional view of a portion of a strengthening bridge employed in the lid, this view being taken as indicated by the section line 8--8 on FIG. 6;
FIG. 9 is a plan view of a blank cut from a planar sheet of corrugated fiberboard and having dot-dash lines applied to indicate lines on which flexing of various areas of the planar blank will be effected in order to form a casket shell;
FIG. 10 is an enlarged sectional view taken as indicated by the line 10--10 on FIG. 9 and showing the multiple-layered corrugated fiberboard employed;
FIG. 11 is a view of a plurality of layers of material employed in the fabrication of a lid according to the invention;
FIGS 12a, 13a and 14 are enlarged sectional views taken as indicated by the section lines 12a--12a, 13a--13a, and 14--14, as applied to different portions of FIG. 11;
FIGS. 12b and 13b are enlarged sectional views taken as indicated by the lines 12b --12b and 13b--13 b on FIG. 11;
FIGS. 15a to 15f inclusive are views illustrating successive steps in the fabrication of a casket and lid according to the present invention; and in these figures:
FIG. 15a is a view of the blank of FIG. 9, with certain portions corresponding to the end wall areas of the casket flexed into the planes of the end walls; PA1 FIG. 15b is a view similar to FIG. 15a but illustrating additional flexing of portions of the blank; PA1 FIG. 15c is a view of the casket shell with all portions of the planar blank folded into the desired wall positions, this view also showing certain frame elements adapted to be assembled with the folded blank; PA1 FIG. 15d is a view showing the assembled parts of the shell and also showing portions of the domed lid adapted to be assembled into the configuration in which the lid is formed in one piece; PA1 FIG. 15e is a view similar to FIG. 15d but showing the lid components assembled in a manner to provide a lid in a single piece; PA1 FIG. 15f is a view of a casket shell and domed lid assembled together but showing the subdivision of the lid of FIG. 15e into two parts so that they may be separately handled;
FIG. 16 is an exploded view of certain portions of a mold structure adapted for use in the molding of a domed lid according to the present invention, this view also showing the interposition of certain of the layers of corrugated fiberboard and plain sheet material adapted to be laminated in the mold, this view further indicating the separation or removal of a molded half-lid being separated from the mold; and
FIG. 17 is a view similar to FIG. 11 but illustating a modified embodiment of one portion of the material used in the fabrication of the lid.